To put hops in a bag or not, that is the question

Prefer to put hops in a bag to contain them and help with making clear beer. Problem is adding hops at different times uses up a lot of bags. Currently pay $0.70 a bag at LHBS.

Thinking of making a holder for the hop bag I saw here that keeps the bag open above the water line so you can add hops when needed. What has been your experience with one of these?

Does putting hops in a bag significantly cut down on hop utiltization? I think not.

Has anyone used the reusable Rite Brew muslin grain/hop bags sold on Amazon? They come in 5 packs of 3"x5", 5"x7" and 6"x10" for $2-3.

Also read here about making hop bags from panty hose. Anyone else tried this?

How about buying three SS tea balls? Lots of people use these:

http://www.google.com/#sclient=psy-..._gc.r_pw.&fp=70cacc96a2d1817&biw=1024&bih=579

TopherM said:

How about buying three SS tea balls? Lots of people use these:

Click to expand...

Not for the boil, dryhopping only.

_

Hop spider works well as long as the bag is large enough to let the hops move around freely. I've not noticed any loss of "hop" from using bags. For pellet hops I use filter bags from Duda Diesel and for leaf hops I use larger mesh nylon bags from LHBS.

as long as you don't pack them too full you shouldn't notice much difference in utilization.

Get reusable hop bags.

I use panty hose. I got a bunch of unused packs of 'em from a thrift store. I bag up my whole hops in the boil with lots of extra room in the bag so the hops can flow a bit more freely. Works great.

I have been using 5 gl paint Strainer bags with good success for about 6 months.

Thanks for the good input. Going to make a hop spider like lanvp posted back in '09. It hangs from the side allowing wort to be stirred. Will get the reusable hop bags from Amazon for dry hopping.

I have always just dumped my pellet hops directly into my boil kettle with great results. Wort clarity has never really been an issue for me as I constantly recirculate the wort with a RIMS system during the mash. I also usually do a 6 week primary fermentation, and 12 week conditioning to alleviate a lot of the cloudiness. Most of the wort clarity issues come from chill haze anyway which are proteins that can be dealt with by doing proper mash schedules, sparges, and cold crashing the beer. I usually use a plate filter if the finished beer needs further clarity.

As for the mess, I have a B3 sculpture which has a 1" ball valve on the boil kettle. I have never had clogging issues while pumping wort into the fermenters.

I know a lot of people who use homegrown fresh hops or whole hops, and like the filter bed the hops provide in the bottom of the kettle. I also know a lot of brewers who use muslin bags with much success as well. I think it really comes down to personal preference.

[email protected]. on tap: easy virtue blonde, fruity monk belgian wit. primary: American pale ale, American stout, blow your top steam, and heffewitzen

geer537 said:

I have been using 5 gl paint Strainer bags with good success for about 6 months.

Click to expand...

yup... and they are reusable

I usually use whole hops, and have never found it necessary (with whole hops) to use a hop bag. My current setup has a false bottom in the kettle, and the hops on the false bottom make a wonderful filter for the break material.
I have used hop bags 3 times (each time with pellet hops). The first time was a disaster because the bags were too small, but a hop tea recovered that brew. The second two times, I used a 5g paint strainer bag. It didn't look like there was much of a boil going on inside the bag, but the results were fine. Perhaps I dropped a few IBU's but it wasn't noticeable.

-a.

In my experience, hops in the kettle wether begged or not has no impact on the clarity of the final product. They settle out during fermentation.

So to answer the original question, bag or not bag, the answer is yes(as it pertains to clarity).

+1 on 5gal paint strainer bag. I brew on a stovetop & just use a binder clip on the rim of the pot to keep the top of the bag above the boil, just take the binder clip off & throw the hops in the bag.

relax, have a home brew.

I have been using just one, reusable bag for many, many years. I have a long enough string on it that I tie it to the pot handle. This allows me to pull it out of the wort and add more hops multiple times during the boil. After I am done, I boil the bag in water to remove some of the stain and to sterilize it again. Then I just dunk it in starsan if I remember, but many times I just drop it into the wort to self sterilize. I have a spare bag now, but I have not used it yet as my original bag is not quite fallen apart yet.

I just built a hop spider and used it for the first time last weekend on an IPA. It seemed to work pretty well but obviously I haven't tasted the final product yet.

I've dry hooped in a corney using those 5 gal paint strainer bags. It worked very well for me so I'm planning to try it again with this batch.

FWIW-I use 1 gl. paint strainer bags in the keg for dry hopping. (and 5 gl. bags in the boil)

-d

Does anyone use a hop back? I know it's common practice in commercial breweries, and I heard of a handful of homebrewers who use them and love them.

I also use the 5 gal paint strainer bags. They fit perfectly with the elastic band over the rim of my boil kettle. That way my hops can swim about unrestricted in the boil. I just make sure to keep the bag off the bottom of the kettle and weighted with some extra pieces of SS hardware to keep it from floating up to the top.

I have used the 5 gallon and 1 gallon strainer (paint bags) for a while now. Always with pellet hops and have had no issues. Today I am using my home grown Cascade, so it will be the first time using leaf or whole hops in the bag.

I made up the PVC fitting with stainless rods to hold the bag in the pot while boiling.

Salute!

Grab a case of paint straining bags for $30.

squirrelly said:

Does anyone use a hop back? I know it's common practice in commercial breweries, and I heard of a handful of homebrewers who use them and love them.

Click to expand...

I used one a few times and then gave it away. I wasn't impressed. It didn't seem to do anything that couldn't be done better by dry hopping.

I have heard that from a few brewers as well. I was considering giving it a shot though just because it's one more piece of equipment to tinker with.

[email protected]. on tap: easy virtue blonde, fruity monk belgian wit. primary: American pale ale, American stout, blow your top steam, and heffewitzen

I don't remember who I stole this idea from but it is awesome. I used to use a 4"PVC coupling as a how spider but after a while it was warping because of the heat.

This method is all SS and is really cheap and easy.

Use the 6" egg ring with a large worm gear clamp and any type of bag you like. bend the handle into a hook and it hangs nicely on the edge of my Keggle.
Link to SS egg ring:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C91G32/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

$5.95 w/ free shipping

PantherCity said:

I don't remember who I stole this idea from but it is awesome. I used to use a 4"PVC coupling as a how spider but after a while it was warping because of the heat.

This method is all SS and is really cheap and easy.

Use the 6" egg ring with a large worm gear clamp and any type of bag you like. bend the handle into a hook and it hangs nicely on the edge of my Keggle.
Link to SS egg ring:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002C91G32/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

$5.95 w/ free shipping

Click to expand...

i totally thought i was a genius when i thought of this! hahah, i guess i wasnt the first one... sad.

I throw them in but use a hop bag to dry hop...a few weeks in a fridge really clears up the clarity but I tend to not see those problems